Automobile-radiator heater



' C.- F. MURRAY.

AUTOMOBILE RADIATOR HEATER.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 16, I9l8.

Patented Oct. 12, 1920.

CHARLES r. MURRAY, 01? nvnnsron. ILLnvoIs.

AUTOMOBILE-RADIATOR HEATER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented 0a. 1920.

Applicationfiled December 16, 1918. Serial No. 266,881.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES F. MURRAY, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Evanston, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Automobile- Radiator Heaters, of which" the following is a specification.

The use of automobiles during the winter months is now becoming almost universal, and as a large proportion thereof employ water as a cooling medium, the problem of preventing freezing is ever present. It is concededly illogical, particularly during a 7 period of coal shortage, to heat an entire garage in order to prevent three or four gallons of water from freezing, and yet in view of the danger of fire, no practical means have been devised for obviating this necessity. f

However, one of the most vexatious problems of winter driving is not met even by providing a heated garage. It frequently becomes necessary or desirable to leave the automobile in the street for several hours, when making calls, attending meetings, dances, etc., and no practical means have been devised for preventing freezing of the cooling water and providing suiiicient' heat to insure easy starting of the engine.

The device of my invention is adapted to overcome these difficulties and to meet the problems heretofore presented. The device is in the form of a small, light "kerosene heater adapted to be removably secured to the front face of an automobile radiator and to apply heat locally at a point removed from which the inlet is located, a thermosiphonic' action will be set up which will cause the water at that point torise and be replaced by water drawn in through the lower inlet.

It is undesirable and at times dangerous to employ a heater in which a flame isgenerated and this has been a fundamental ob- Potion to heaters heretofore employed. iowever, in my device the heater and its flame are located eXteriorly of the radiator and the openings in the radiator through which the heat passes are covered either by gauze, which prevents ignition, orby a dished plate, whereby the heat and products of combustion are directed upwardly and thence outwardly through other radiator openmgs. In either case there' is no possibility of ignition even though aflame is employed. L q

I The invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein,

Figure 1 is a front elevation of an automobile radiator to which my improvement has been applied;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section through the heater and a portion of the radiator;

Fig. 3, is a front elevation thereof, and,

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of a modification. r

In the drawings, it will be seen that the radiator 1O, is provided with a bottom inlet 11, and a top outlet 12, for the cooling liquid. If the inlet is located at the left hand side as viewed from the front'ofthe radiator, my heater will be located at the lower right hand corner, as shown, in the drawing. Heat applied locally will enforce circulation of the cooling liquid. The location of the heater at other points might serve to secure limited advantageous results therewould undoubtedly be sluggish circulation in all parts of the radiator, but by locating the heater at the point designated the circulation will be sure throughout all parts ofcthe radiator. I

The heater comprises a burner 13, which may employ a tubular wick 14, having the usual meansfor adjusting the same. Air is supplied through the tube15, and a strip of gauze 16 may be placed in the tubular opening to prevent any possible ignition of gas atthis point. The hydrocarbon liquid for combustion be carried in a small tank. or container 17, the size of the container being proportioned to the rate of consumption of fuel in order that there may be an ample supply for a designatedperio d.

The burner is covered by a concavecasing 18, which will preferably be carefully insulated, an insulating material 18', such as asbestos, being shown. The arrangement will be such that the heat and products of combustion are directed inwardly through the cells or openings 19, in the radiator.

Inasmuch as I wish to avoid any openings in the heater other than the gauze protected air opening and also to enable a disengagement of the heater when its use is unnecessary, I provide means for readily removing the heater as a unit from its position without requiring any extended manipulation. To this end I provide a plate 20, having an opening 21, therein, of a size corresponding substantially to that of the outlet from the heater, the plate being adapted to be secured to the facecf the radiator by passing wires 22, through the radiator openings, the wires engaging the corners of the plate. Preferably the plate will rest with. its lower edge in engagement with the usual flange 23,-which surrounds the radiator cells, the flange serving to support the weight of the parts and thus removing any strain which might in time break the cells and cause a leak. The plate will be provided with a plurality of T- headed lugs 24:, adapted to be engaged by the key-hole slots 25, in the flange of the heater. By this means the heater may be engaged with and disengaged from the plate by a simple movement. To prevent accidental disengagement may provide a gravity latch 26.

In order to avoid the possibility of ignition of any volatile or combustible matter withinthe engine hood by contact with the heat or flame generated in the heater, I provide a dished plate 27, which may be held in place by the wires 22, as shown. hen in position this plate covers the radiator openings through which the heat from the heater passes, and also covers a plurality of higher openings. In this manner the heat which passes through the radiator openings will rise and be directed outwardly through similar openings. Thus the flame is entirely protected from the inside of the hood.

It may be preferable to employ a construction such as shown in Fig. l, in which the dished plate is eliminated and a small frame 28, is employed which carries a gauze or screen 29. The frame 28, serves to provide means for securing the inner ends of the wires and affording a firm fastening and also serves to'hold the light gauze in proper position. It is well known that a provision of this character will prevent ignition of any volatile matter from the flame.

The exact form and arrangement of the parts and the location of the device with reference to the radiator are unimportant as far as the inventive idea is concerned and modifications may be made therein without departure from the spirit of the invention.

I claimi 1. The eoznbinatien with an automobile radiator having a water inlet and an outlet of a heater therefor, said heater being of a size materially less than the front area of the radiator and being located eXteriorly thereof at a. point opposite the water inlet and below the outlet, the heater being secu *ed to and carried by said radiator, substantiall as described.

2. The combination. with an automobile radiator of a heater therefor, means for se: curing the heater to the front face of the radiator whereby the heat is caused to pass through the radiator openings, and an im perforate plate located on the inner face of the radiator for covering the openings at the point of the passage of combustion products therethrough to prevent accidental ig nition of combustible matter, substantially as described.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination with an automobile radiator of a hydrocarbon heater of a size materially less than the front area of the radiator, means for securing the heater to the front face of the radiator and in us for covering the inner face. of the radiator at a point opposite the point at which, the heater is. attached, substantially as dcscriber 4:. In a device of the class described, the combination with an automobile radiator of a hydrocarbon heater, means for securing the same to the front face of the radiator and means on the inner face of the radiator for directing products of combustion reversely through the radiator, substantially as described. 7

In a device of the class described, the combination with an automobile radiator of a hydrocarbon heater, means for securing the; same to the outer face of the radiator at a point near the bottom thereof, and means for causing heat evolved from the heater to pass through the radiator a plurality of times, substantially as described.

6. In a radiator heating device, the combination of a plate, means adapted to pass through the transverse openings in the radiator for 'secu'ring the plate in position against the outer face of the radiator, a heater, and cooperating devices on the heater and plate adapted to permit the heater to be readily placed in and removed from its operative position, substantially as described. v

'7. In a radiator heating device, the combination of a pairof plates adapted to be secured on the inner and outer faces respectively of a radiator, said outer plate having an opening therein and said inner plate covering a space corresponding to said opening, and a heater removably mounted on said outer plate in such position that the heat is caused to pass through the opening in the plate and through the radiator, subas described. 8. In a device of the class described, the

combination with an automobile radiator having transverse openings between the cells thereof, a frame located on the outer face of the radiator, a flame-insulating device on the inner face of the radiator at a point opposite said frame, means passing through the openings in the radiator for securing said devices in position, and a heater removably mounted on said frame, substantially as described.

9. The combination with an automobile radiator having transverse openings, of a plate having an opening mounted on the front face and a second imperforate plate on the inner face of the radiator, the two plates being substantially in register, means passing through the openings in the radiator for securing said plates in position, and a heater adapted to be reinovably secured on said front plate with a discharge opening of the heater in register with the opening in said front plate, substantially as described.

10. The combination of a pair of plates be removably mounted on said frame, substantially as described.

12. The combination with an automobile radiator, of a heater of small size relative to the face of the radiator, means for directing the heat evolved by said heater against a relatively limited area of the radiator, and means located on the inner surface of the radiator for covering the space corresponding to that to which the heat is applied and for causing the heated products of combustion to flow upwardly and thence outwardly.

through said radiator, substantially as described.

Signed at Chicago, 111., this 14th day of December, 1918.

' Witness:

T. D. BUTLER. 

